Learning opportunities

As a pharmacy resident at Salem Health, you will gain broad exposure to a wide variety of patient populations and have the opportunity to further develop your skill sets in many areas including clinical pharmacy services, pharmacy operations, administration and leadership, and project management.

The following required and elective learning experiences currently offered include:

• Orientation
• Adult Critical Care I & II
• Adult Internal Medicine I & II
• Emergency Department I
• Cardiovascular Care Unit (CVCU)
• ID I: Introduction to Infectious Disease
• ID II: Antimicrobial Stewardship
• IV Room & Operating Room
• Neonatal, Pediatric and Obstetrics
• Emergency Department II
• Oncology (Adult) 
• Operating Room II
• Pharmacy Operations
• Pharmacy & Therapeutics / Medication Safety Committee
• Teaching and Learning Experience - Oregon Pharmacy Teaching Certificate (OPTC) ¹
• Residency Project ²
• Pharmacy Staffing ³

Additional information: See more details here.

Several learning experiences may be repeated as an elective but no more than 12 weeks can be spent in a single level of care (i.e. Critical Care, Internal Medicine).

¹ Oregon Pharmacy Teaching Certificate (OPTC) program: This program is jointly operated by the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy and Pacific University School of Pharmacy. It is intended for postgraduate pharmacy trainees who are interested in didactic and experiential education activities and includes workshops, practical training and hands on teaching experiences. Residents that successfully complete all required teaching activities will be awarded a teaching certificate.

² Residency Project: Each resident completes a year-long project during the residency year. Potential projects are identified by the Residency Advisory Committee and presented to the residents for consideration and ranking early in the year.  Residents participate in all stages of the process including developing a time line, obtaining IRB approval, data collection and analysis, submitting an abstract for presentation of the project at the Northwestern States Conference for Residents and Preceptors and a poster for ASHP Midyear, and completing a manuscript. 

• Projects from previous years
  

Citywide Residency Conference:  Residents participate in bimonthly meetings, intended to round out a residency experience and provide networking opportunities with Portland-area residents & Residency Program Directors. Participation in this program allows residents to share knowledge across organizations and includes educational sessions to further enhance the residency experience. Some example topics include personal and professional leadership, preceptor development, change management, project justification, and legislative advocacy. *Of note, these sessions are currently on HOLD due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.*

³ Pharmacy Staffing Commitment:  Service commitment is crucial to the development of professional practice skills.  Residents will gain proficiency in both operational and clinical skill sets during the staffing experience, which includes exposure to both central and decentral pharmacy practice. This exposure will provide valuable experience and insights into key inpatient pharmacy processes for acute care facilities, increasing one’s ability to lead practice improvement initiatives. Residents are expected to staff approximately 32 hours per month, 8 hours per staffing shift.

Medical Emergency Response: Residents will receive upfront training Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and will have the opportunity to actively participate in hospital-wide code blue responses throughout the residency.

Residency Leadership

Welcome and thank you for considering Salem Health as the site for your residency training! Our goal, as program leadership for the PGY1 Pharmacy Residency at Salem Hospital, is to support the development of skilled clinical pharmacists who will have a sound understanding of hospital pharmacy practice, and improve care at the patient and healthcare system levels. To that end, our preceptors will challenge you to improve your abilities to:

• Better the care of the patients you serve each day
• Improve medication safety by participating in evaluation of medication events
• Improve the system by enacting changes in the electronic health record to further enhance patient care 

Our preceptors are a critical part of your journey down this path. Please take a few moments to meet some of the people who will help you improve as a clinician pharmacist if you join us. We look forward to the opportunity to provide a residency experience that will prepare you for patient care and career advancement in any healthcare setting!

Preceptors

Nathan Brabham, RPh

Nathan received his pharmacy degree from Oregon State University. Nathan has been Salem Health’s operating room pharmacist for more than two decades and has received numerous awards for service excellence from the organization over the years. He serves as preceptor for the IV Room / OR learning experience.

Danielle Britt, MA, PharmD

Danielle received her PharmD from Washington State University in 2007. She completed a PGY-1 pediatric focused residency training program at Providence Alaska Medical Center 2008 and joined Salem Health as the Infectious Diseases/ Antimicrobial Stewardship Pharmacist in October 2016. Danielle was awarded her MAD-ID Basic and Advance Antimicrobial Stewardship Certificates in 2014 and 2018. She serves as a preceptor for the Antimicrobial Stewardship / Infectious Disease I & II learning experiences, leads the hospital inpatient stewardship program and is co-chair for the COVID-19 medication task force work group. Her professional interests include infectious diseases, antimicrobial stewardship, pediatrics and HIV management. In her free time, Danielle enjoys spending time with her family and exploring the Pacific Northwest.

Stephanie Cassidy, PharmD

Stephanie received her PharmD from Pacific University in Oregon. She been with Salem Health since 2017. Stephanie serves as a preceptor for the Clinical Pharmacy Practice Council learning experience. In her spare time she likes to kayak with her dog Toby and snowboard with her husband.

Grozdana Fundak, PharmD

Grozdana received her PharmD from University of Washington and completed an ASHP-accredited residency training at the University of Washington, Harborview Hospitals. She started at Salem Health in 2002 and has been recognized multiple times by the organization for her service excellence as an oncology pharmacist. Currently she serves as preceptor for the Adult Internal Medicine I & II, Oncology and Pharmacy Staffing learning experiences.

Caroline Houston, PharmD

Caroline received her PharmD from University of the Pacific. She has been with Salem Health since 2012 as an IV pharmacist and serves as the primary preceptor for the IV Room / OR learning experience.

Aron Howe, PharmD

Aron received his PharmD from Creighton University School of Pharmacy and Health Professions. Since 2012, Aron has been one of Salem Health’s Emergency Department pharmacists and serves as preceptor for Emergency Department I & II learning experiences.

Cejae Legal, PharmD

Cejae received her PharmD from Oregon State University. She has been with Salem Health since 2001 first as a student, a clinical pharmacist in 2004 and specialized in cardiovascular ICU in 2008. She serves as the primary preceptor for the Cardiovascular ICU and Pharmacy Staffing learning experiences, and has received the Outstanding Resident Mentor Award three years in a row. Additionally, she teaches the cardiac pharmacology class to new cardiac nurses.

Nancy Pifer, PharmD

Nancy received her PharmD from Oregon State University. She started at Salem Health as a night shift pharmacist in 2004 and transitioned to the Family Birth Center (FBC) pharmacist in 2006. She serves as a preceptor for the Neonatal, Pediatric and Obstetrics and Pharmacy Staffing learning experiences.

Wesley Porter, PharmD, BCPS

Wes graduated with his PharmD degree from the University of Colorado in 2017. He completed his PGY-1 inpatient residency training at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, NV in 2018 and began working at Salem Health in 2021. Wes primarily works as an ICU Clinical Pharmacist and is a part of the preceptor team for the Adult Critical Care I & II learning experiences. When not at work, Wes loves to explore the Oregon coast and frequent the nearby farmer’s market with his family.

Cory Rahn, PharmD

Cory received his PharmD from Oregon State University. He completed PGY-1 residency training at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. Cory serves as a preceptor for the longitudinal Pharmacy Administration learning experience.

Rick Rochetto, RPh

Rick received his pharmacy degree from Oregon State University. He started his inpatient pharmacy career at St. Charles Medical Center in Bend, OR and joined Salem Health in 1996 as an ICU Clinical Pharmacist. He has been awarded the Pharmacist Award of Excellence in 2000 and has been involved in numerous protocol work. Rick serves as the primary preceptor for the Adult Critical Care I & II learning experiences.

Tony Scavarelli, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP

Tony received his BS-Pharm (1997) from Northeastern University and PharmD (2012) from Shenandoah University. He started at Salem Health in 2019 as an ICU clinical pharmacist and recently switched into a management role. He brings with him a unique perspective from his varied work experiences and residency precepting in New Hampshire and Texas, primarily in the critical care area. Tony serves as a preceptor for the critical care and longitudinal project learning experiences.

Erich Schmidt, PharmD, BCPS

Erich received his PharmD from the University of Georgia. He has been with Salem Health since 2002 as a clinical pharmacist in many different areas, including Neurotrauma ICU, Medical-Surgical/ Orthopedic and Intermediate care ICU.  Erich serves as a preceptor for the Adult Internal Medicine I & II learning experiences.

Tae Yu, RPh, BCPS

Tae received his pharmacy degree from Oregon State University in 1999. After graduation, he worked retail pharmacy and started at Salem Health in 2003 as a night shift pharmacist. He was awarded his Board Certification in Pharmacotherapy in 2013. Tae serves as a preceptor for the Neonatal, Pediatric and Obstetrics and Pharmacy Staffing learning experiences.

Chelsea Zipse, PharmD, BCPS

Chelsea received her PharmD from the University of Kansas in 2017. She completed a PGY-1 residency at Saint Alphonsus in Boise, Idaho and then stayed on as an Internal Medicine Pharmacist. In 2021, she moved to Oregon and joined the Salem Health pharmacy team, where she provides patient care to several different areas, including oncology, medical-surgical, and neurotrauma units. Chelsea serves as a preceptor for the Adult Internal Medicine I & II and Oncology learning experiences.

Current residents